Wong Chin Huat, a journalism lecturer of Monash University Malaysia who is doing a PhD thesis on electoral systems and party politics, told theSun that Anwar had “solidly captured the middle ground” to win in Permatang Pauh.

Newly sworn-in Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim wasted no time getting down to business in parliament today.

No mushy hellos to former Barisan Nasional colleagues or sentimental thank-yous in his first speech after a 10-year absence, but instead, the 61-year straightaway hit the attack button, firing the first shot for his Pakatan Rakayat alliance against the ruling coalition.

â€œWhat is in question right now is the credibility of the BN-led government for tabling the DNA Identification bill for second reading without any proper consultation with experts of the subject,â€ he asked.

â€œEveryone except the BN members is questioning the bill. The bill can only be agreed upon in the context of malevolent politics and differed by all the experts out there,â€ Anwar said.

The former deputy prime minister was reponding to questions raised by Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak).

The Barisan MP had questioned the Bar Councilâ€™s recently issued and strongly-worded statement against the tabling of the controversial bill.

From The Associated Press
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) â€” Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim rejoined Malaysia’s Parliament on Thursday, resurrecting his mission to become prime minister a decade after he was charged with sodomy and his career written off.

Hours after he was sworn in, Anwar staged a walkout to protest proposed legislation that critics say is meant to bolster a new sodomy case against him.

Anwar says his alliance is on track to topple the government by Sept. 16 with defections from the governing National Front coalition, which has ruled Malaysia since its independence from Britain in 1957.

“I am glad to be back after a decade. I really feel vindicated. I feel great,” Anwar said on Thursday.

Anwar was forced to resign his Parliament seat in 1999 amid a sodomy allegation and was jailed for six years after he was convicted of corruption and sodomizing his family driver. The sodomy conviction was overturned by Malaysia’s top court in 2004.

MALAYSIAN opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in yesterday in parliament, ending a decade-long political exile and taking another step towards his plan of toppling the Government.

Mr Anwar claimed a landslide victory this week in a byelection, capping a stunning comeback after he was sacked as deputy premier in 1998 and jailed for sodomy and corruption.

“I’m glad to be back after a decade,” Mr Anwar said, attacking Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has come under growing pressure to quit since March elections in which the opposition gained unprecedented ground.

“The Prime Minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation,” Mr Anwar said, calling on Mr Abdullah, his deputy, Najib Razak, and “all their cronies” to be removed from power.

Ten years after being forced from power by charges of sexual misconduct, Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as the leader of the Malaysian opposition today and repeated his promise to drive out the government of the prime minister, Abdullah Badawi.

â€œI am glad to be back after a decade. I really feel vindicated. I feel great,â€ Mr Anwar said after being sworn in as a member of parliament and immediately elected as leader by the three party opposition coalition. â€œClearly the prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation.â€

AFTER an ugly, mudslinging campaign, a by-election on August 26th in the northern constituency of Permatang Pauh may have changed Malaysiaâ€™s political landscape permanently. The stakes were high. The main opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, bidding to return to parliament, had to win convincingly to keep up the momentum of his drive to unseat the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and its allies, which have ruled since independence from Britain in 1957. The government, which lost its two-thirds majority (needed to change the constitution) in a general election in March, wanted at least to deny Mr Anwar a big majority. But he won by almost 16,000 votes, 2,000 more than in March, when his wife (with Mr Anwar above) defended the seat.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s leading opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy premier, rejoined parliament on Thursday, bringing him closer to his ambition of toppling the government and reforming the economy.

Anwar, once the protege of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, was forced from office in 1998 on corruption and sodomy charges he said were false and part of a political conspiracy to ruin his political ambitions.

A decade on, he rejoins parliament filled with his political enemies and scores of fellow opposition lawmakers united in his quest to boot out the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled the country for the past 50 years.